Adsorption apparatus



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n Q u. E N a INVENTOR ENRIQUE L. LUACES BY v ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 7,1947 ADSORPTION @relief-DUS Enrique L. Luces, Dayton, O hio, assignor to""Chemical Developments Corporation, Dayton, Ghio, a corporation of OhioOriginal application June 25., 1943, Serial No., 492,217. Divided andthis application Novemper 1, 1943, serial No. 508,513l

n 4 claims. (o1. issu-...4.5) Y

This application is a division of copending apcreation serialNdfiea-alvgnied June 25, 1943. This invention relates to method andapparatus for treating air,`and more particularly deals with adsorptionapparatus, More specically, the invention deals with adsorptionapparatus for treating large volumes of air to remove va- Vpors andfumes'therefrom, as for example, the

volatile solvents employed in connection with the gravure printing inks.

Especially inl printing plants, it is necessary thatthe printing beaccomplished at high speeds so that a' large volume of solvent isevaporated, and therefore it isnecessary to remove large volurnes of airfrom the roomv in Aorder to maintain the solvent vapor concentrationwithin healthful and safe limits.

Accordingly, it .is a primary object of the present invention to providean adsorption apparatus adapted for handling large volumes of air and indoing so to remove solvent .vapors therefrom. The present invention willbe more fully understood from the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing which illustrates an adsorberconstructed according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated an adsorber at it whichis supported on a skirt |25 and within which there is located aplurality of beds of adsorbent material, as for example, activatedcarbon. These beds are indicated, respectively, at |26, |21 and 26 andare transverselocated inthe vertically arranged yadsorber shell 29 invertically spaced relationship wherebythe said shell is divided intofour separate compartments.

lThe uppermost of the beds at |25 is supported on the shell |29 by anangle |30 and comprises a forami-nous supporting plate I3! and a wiremesh screen 132 resting on the said plate and directly supporting theadsorbent material. The inter'- rndiate bed |21 and the lowermost bed|23 are each supported by the angles |33 on theshell |29 and by theangles |36 on the member |35.

-T-he member |35 is a sleeve which traverses the beds |21 and r,|23andwhic-h connects the space above the orrneruwith that below thelatter. The sleeve is preferably, but not neceesarily', centrallylocated 'in the adsorber, passes through the beds in anv aiialdirectionand is "oylindrical in cross section.

The body of the adsorber is provided with manholes lf |31',Y and |38vintended to serve for charging adsorbent to form the beds |26, 21, Aand|28, respectively, and the manholes |39, |110, and |i| are intended toempty the beds |26, |21, and |28, respectively.

Air to be treated enters the adsorber through valve |42 and header 'U53and flows downwardly through beds and |28 and upwardly through bed'|21'. The portion flowing downwardly through bed |25 and the portionflowing upwardly through bed E21 commingle within the space betweenthese two beds and then iiow downwardly through the riser |35 to thebottom of the adsorber. Atv this point the portion flowing upwardlythrough bed |21 and the portion flowing downwardly through bed |25commingle with the portion flowing downwardly through bed |28 and thewhole exits through conduit |44 and valve |45. l v

In order to insure proper division of flow through the legs of theheader M3, the upper leg thereof, which carries only one-half the amountof fluid asv the lower leg thereof, may be restricted in any suitableandconvenient manner, such as by making a portion thereof of a smallerdiameter asis indicated in the drawing by the portion bearing thereference numeral |43a.

During the steaming cycle steam enters through valve M5 and iiows intothe adsorber 25 through conduit |45. One-third of the steam enteringthev adsorber through conduit |44 will ow upwardly through bed |23 andthence into conduit |43 and two-thirds of the steam entering theadsorber through conduit Idd will iiow upwardly through riser |35 intothe space between the beds |23 and |21 and half of it will then iiowupwardly through bed |25 and into conduit v|53 and the other half willflow downwardly through bed |21 into the conduit |43. The distillatewill exit from conduit |43 through valve |41.

Any condensation within the adsorber shell during the steaming cyclewill flow downwardly by gravity into the vcondensate chamber |50 whichis connected with the said adsorber at the lox'verrnostl point in orderto receive all of the drainage'ftherefrom. A pipe |5| and a valve |52are effective to control the withdrawal of condensate from the chamber|55. During the drying and cooling cycle air will enter through valve|48 and header |43 and will travel through the adsorber in the rsamemanner as the air to be treated travels in the adsorption cycle.The'drying and cooling air is exhausted from the adsorber throughconduit L54 and value L49.

Those skilled in the art will understand that while the flow of dryingand coolingair has been indicated i@ be in. the ,Seme direction as thenow of vair to be treated, the apparatus and method of the presentinvention are not limited in that sense, since the drying and coolingair could be passed through the adsorber countercurrent to the flow ofair to be treated with equal satisfaction. Likewise, those skilled inthe art will understand that in the case of the adsorber illustrated theow of steam may be reversed without materially influencing the ultimateresults. Generally speaking, it is preferred practice to have the steamlow in a direction opsecond conduit means for controlling the ow ofdesorption fluid into said adsorber, a fourth conduit means including avalve connected with said header for controlling the flow of products ofdesorptionfrom saidadsorber, a condensate chamber attached to and iniiuid communication A, with the lowermost portion of said adsorber, and

posite to the direction of ow of the air to be treated, but this is notrequisite. The direction of flow of each of the fluids passed through anadsorber is influenced primarily by local conditions and individualpreference.

It will be understood that while there have been described hereincertain specific embodiments of the present invention, it is notintended that this invention be limited to the specific details ofconstruction, and arrangement of parts, herein described or illustratedin the drawing, in view of the fact that this invention is susceptibleYto modifications according to individual preferencek and conditionswithout departing from the spirit of this disclosure and the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. An adsorber comprising a vertically disposed shell or casing, a firstbed of adsorbent material lying transversely of the longitudinal axis ofsaid shell or casing and adjacent to but spaced from the upper portionthereof, a second bed of adsorbent material lying transversely of thelongitudinal axis of said shell or casing lil adjacent to but spacedfrom the lower portion thereof, a third bed of adsorbent material lyingtransversely of the longitudinal axis of said shell or casing andintermediate said first and second beds, a cylindrical member centrallydisposed along the longitudinal axis of said shell or casing traversingsaid second and third beds and ccmmunicating the space above the latterwith that below the former, a header external of said shellcommunicating the uppermost portionof said adsorber with the portion ofsaid adsorber intermediate said second and third beds, means inassociation with said header permitting the flow of iluid into and outof said headergconduit means connected with the bottom portion of saidadsorber adapted to permit the flow of fluid into and out of saidadsorber, means for introducing desorption uid into said conduitmeans'to be passed to said adsorber, means for withdrawing products oidesorption from said adsorber via said header, and means for withdrawingcondensate from said adsorber, said last mentioned means lying along thelowermost portion of said adsorber.

2. An adsorber comprising a vertical shell having closed ends, threehorizontally disposed and vertically spaced beds of adsorbent materialwithin said shell dividing the same into four separate spaces, a hollowmember arranged within said shell to traverse the lower two of said bedsand to communicate the space above the upper thereof with that below thelower thereof, external header means connected with said shell andcommunicating the uppermost space therein with the space intermediatethe lower two beds, first conduit means including a valve connected withsaid header for controlling the flow of fluid into and out of the same,a second conduit means connected with said shell below the lowermost bedfor permitting the flow of uid into and out of said adsorber, a thirdconduit means including a valve connected with said through each of thethree beds.

a pipe line including a valve connected with said chamber for permittingthe Withdrawal therefrom of condensate.

A3. An adsorber comprising a vertical shell having closed ends, first,second and third beds of adsorbent lying transversely in said shell andbeing vertically spaced from the ends thereof and from each other, animperiorate conduit traversing thelower two of said beds andcommunicating the space between the upper two of said beds with thespace below the lowermost thereof, header means externally connectedwith said shell and communicating the space above the uppermostv bedtherein with the space below the lower two thereof, means for passingfluid to be Vtreated through said adsorber comprising a first valvedconduit for admitting fluid into said adsorber via said header and asecond valved conduit connected with the space below the lowermost ofthe beds for withdrawing the treated uid from the adsorber, means forpassing desorption fluid through said adsorber in a direction oppositeto the flow of the fluid being treated comprising a rst valved pipeconnected with said second conduit for admitting the desorption fluidinto said adsorber and a second valved pipe connected with said rstconduit for withdrawing the products of desorption from said adsorber,and means for passing cooling and drying uid through said adsorber in adirection opposite to the passage therethrough of the desorption iuidcomprising a third valved conduit connected with said first conduit toadmit cooling and drying air into said adsorber and a fourth valvedconduit connected with said second conduit to withdraw the cooling anddrying air from said adsorber.

4. An adsorber comprising a vertical shell havingclosed ends, threehorizontally disposed and vertically spaced beds of adsorbent materialwithin said shell dividing the same into four separate spaces, animperforate conduit arranged within said shell and traversing the lowertwo of said beds to communicate the space above the-upper thereof withthat below the lower thereof, external header means connected with saidshell and having a branch communicating the uppermost space therein withthe space intermediate the lower two beds, first conduit means includinga valve connected with said header intermediate the ends thereof forcontrolling the flow of the fluid to be treated into the same, a secondconduit connected with said shell below the lowermost bed for permittingthe flow of treated uid out of said adsorber, a third desorption fluidconduit including a valve connected with said second conduit means forcontrolling the flow of desorption iluid into said adsorber, a fourthconduit including a valve connected with said header for controlling theow of products of desorption from said adsorber, that branch of theheader to the uppermost space having one half the flow capacity of thebranch to the intermediate space to equalize the flow E. L. LUCES.

